Adjustable luggage carrier



United States Patent [72] Inventors Sylvester J. Anuskiewicz [56]References Cited JIIIIGS M. Anuskiewicz, 625 Pennsylvania UNITED STATESPATENTS Amo'kmm'pmnsylmn" 5139 1,099,933 6/1914 POhXeI 1 /18.2X [21] P8213 1,176,876 3/1916 Vartabedian. 280/ [22] F1led May 2,1969

Patented Nov 17 1970 1,561,122 11/1925 Stahl 280/35 1,788,150 1/1931Curtin 280/35 FOREIGN PATENTS 242,073 9/1946 Switzerland 280/35 PrimaryExaminer- Leo Friaglia Assistant Examiner- Leslie J. Paperner Attarney-Brown, Murray, Flick & Peckham [54] ADJUSTABLE LUGGAGE CARRIERsc'a'msJnmwinl ABSTRACT: Described is an adjustable luggage carrier,[52] US. Cl. 280/35, totally mechanical in nature and fully collapsiblein design, 280/47.37 utilizing a variety of light weight structuralmembers arranged [51] lnt.Cl B62b 3/02 in a suitably structuredconfiguration so as to increase or [50] Field ofSearch 280/35, decreasethe capacity of the device to accommodate pieces of 47.17, WSB, 47.34,47.37; /1 8(.2)

luggage of various sizes and shapes.

3 4 1' i 58 I as 5-i- 58 1' 10s I '7' 190' k l E as l O 46 7 16B .66 E O4a as /s 54 50 6 8'8 I I I 30 4o 42 Patented Nov. 17, 1970 3,540,752

l/Vl/E/VTOHS. SYLVESTER J. ANUSK/EWICZ a JAMES M. A/VUSK/EW/CZ By LMMWAfrarneys Patented Nov. 17, 1970 3,540,752

Sheet L or 2 FIG. 3.

llVl/EN TORS. SYL VESTER J. ANUSK/EWICZ 8 JAMES M. A/VUSKIEWICZ A f torneys BACKGROUND OF Tm: INVENTION As is known, there are may manyinstances where travelers, particularly women, have difficulty intransporting luggage. Sometimes even at busy airports, train and busstations, there is no available help to carry luggage from a cabstation, for example, to a check-in counter.

In the past, various devices, such as those shown in US. Pat. Nos.1,561,122, 2,132,316 and 2,629,607'have been devised to transportluggage on a wheeled truck which can be strapped to suitcases or thelike of various shapes. Most of these devices, however ,are relativelyclumsy, complicated in construction and either too flimsy or too heavy.Furthermore,

.with many of these devices, it is necessary to remove the luggage fromthe carrier before it is checked in at an airport ticket counteror thelike,,in which case the traveler has the problem of disposing of thecarrier until he reaches his destination where it must again be fittedonto the luggage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As an overall object, the present inventionseeks to provide a new and improved luggage carrier which is light inweight, sturdy in construction, and adaptable to pieces of luggage ofvarioussizes and shapes.

More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide a luggagecarrier of the'type described incorporating a flexible belt which holdsthe luggage on a wheeled truck and is provided with a telescoping handlearrangement which enables the device to be easily wheeled over groundsurfaces by individuals of different heights. At the same time, thehandle can be telescoped into snug abutting relationship with theluggage whereby the luggage, with the carrier attached, presents acompact package which can be transported on aircraft or the like withoutthe necessity of removing the carrier prior to the time that the luggageis checked in.

Still another object ofthe invention is to provide a carrier of the typedescribed which can be incorporated into a piece of luggage as anintegral part thereof.

member slideably associated therewith. Preferably, the piece of luggageis held'on. the truck, within the U-shaped assemblies, by means of aflexible belt which passes through belt keepers on.the vertical supportmembers which support the handle.

Further, in accordance with the invention, the U-shaped as semblies areformed in two parts such that the lateral space between their upstandingleg portions can be varied for pieces of luggage of various widthsandshapes. Finally, the brace members are pivotally connected to thevertical support members on either side of the carrier and are removablysecured to the U-shaped assemblies suchv that the entire device may bedisassembled and folded into a compact package for storage.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description I taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification,and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2. is an end view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 iso bottom view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG.1;

.FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IY-IV of FIG.lshowing the details'of the telescoping handle section of the luggagecarrier of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detailed view showing the manner in which thecross braces of the luggage carriers of FlGSil and 2 can be attached ordetached from the truck which supports In accordance with the invention,an adjustable luggage carrier is providedincluding a truck comprisingapair of generally U-shaped assemblies each having a pair of spacedupstanding leg portions and a lower transverse portion interconnectingthe leg portions. A .crossbar interconnects the lower transverseportions of the respective U-shaped assemof the truck are verticalsupport members which receive, for

slidingmovement, a generally U-shaped handle member. In this manner, theupper, transverse portion of the U-shaped handle member, which isgrasped by the user of the device in order to move it over groundsurfaces, may be moved upwardly or downwardly with respect to a piece ofluggage resting on the truck. That is, in order to move the truck withthe luggage thereon over aground surface, the handle is pulled upwardlyto a level where it can be comfortably grasped by a user. On the otherhand, the handle can be moved downwardly in telescoping relationshipwith the vertical support members such that it will closely abut the endof the luggage being carried, whereby the luggage, with the carrierstill attached, can be checked in at an airline ticket counter or thelike without thenecessity for removing the carrier from the luggage. Theassembly is completed by brace members each having one end connected toone of the vertical support members and another end connected to anassociated one of the upstanding leg portions of the U shaped assembliesto give lateral support to the vertical support members and the handlethe luggage to be carried;

FIG.'6 is an enlarged plan view of the adjustable handle of theluggagecarrier of the invention; and

FIG; 7 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line Vll-Vllof FIG; 6.

Withreference now to the'drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 2 and 3,the luggage carrier shown includes a lower truck 10 comprising a' pairof generally U-shaped assemblies 12 and 14 each having a pair of spacedupstanding leg portions 16 and 18 and a lower-transverse portion 20interconnecting the leg portions.

' As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower transverse portions Zll-areeach formed in two parts lllA and 205 having overlapping portionsprovided with cooperating slots 22 (FIG.

3) which receive wing nuts 24. The end of each overlapping portion isprovided with a rivet or nut 26 which extends into the slot provided inthe other half of the assembly. With this away from each other toaccommodate pieces of luggage of various widths. This is perhaps bestshown in FIG. 2 where the parts 20A and 208 can move from the inboardfull-line positions shown to the outboard dotted-line positions and viceverse. The rivets or bolts 26 which are secured to each part 20A or 2013and extend through the slot in the other part, providestops-for'limiting the movement of the two halves 20A and 20B away fromeach other.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the wing nuts 24 are threaded onto boltsextending downwardly from a rubber bumper 28. On either side of the wingnuts 24 are castered wheels 30 which extend through the parts20A and 20Bof each U-shaped assembly 12 or 14 and are secured to rubber bumpers 32.The,

bumpers 32, along with bumpers 28, serve to support a piece of luggage,schematically illustrated by the broken lines 34 in FIGS. land 2. Aswill be understood, these bumpers enable a piece of luggage to besecurely fitted onto the truck, notwithstanding any protrusions orflanges at the edges of the piece of luggage being transported.

The'two U-shaped assemblies 12 and 14 are interconnected by means of acrossbar. 36 which, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises an upper member 38andtwo spaced lower members 40 which may be riveted or otherwise securelyfastened to the upper member 38. The space between the two members 40 isspanned by means of a plate 42 to provide a space 44 through willhereinafter be described in detail.

Extending between the upstanding leg portions 16 of the U- shapedassemblies 12 and 14 on one side of the truck I0 is a cross member 48riveted as at 50 (FIG. I) to the respective upstanding leg portions 16.Similarly, a erossmember 52 (FIG. 3) extends between the upstanding legportions 18 of the U- shaped assemblies 12 and I4 and is securelyfastened thereto by means of rivets or the like. The crossmembers 48 and52 are each provided with L-shaped flanges 54 (FIGS. 1 and 3) whichreceive belt keepers 56. These belt keepers 56 preferably are looselyfitted within the flanges 54 such that the device can be subsequentlyfolded into a compact package for storage in a manner hereinafterdescribed. Secured to the belt keepers 56, and extending upwardly fromthe crossmembers 48 and 52 are vertical channel support members 58 and60 which receive, for telescoping sliding movement, the opposite legs62, and 64 ofa generally U-shaped handle 66. Surrounding each channelmember 58 or 60 and secured thereto are three belt keepers 68 throughwhich the belt 46 passes.

The details of the vertical channel members 58 and 60, the legs 62 and64 of the handle 66, and the belt keepers 68 are shown in FIG. 4. Thus,the vertical channel support member 58, for example, is provided withcrimped portions 70 which guide and support the downwardly depending legportion 62 of the handle 66. The crimped portions 70 permit the legportion 62.,to slide upwardly or downwardly within the verticalsupporting channel member 58 under slight pressure but, at the sametime, will maintain the handle at any desired height. Thus, the handlemay be moved from the full-line position shown in FIG. 2 to the upperdotted-line position and vice versa by simply applying a slight amountof pressure to it. Surrounding the channel member 58 is the belt keeperassembly 68 which includes an outer U-shaped member 72 connected to aloop 74 through which the belt 46 passes. A sponge rubber pad 76 or thelike may be secured to the inside surface of the loop 74 to prevent itfrom marring or damaging the lug-, gage being carried.

Pivotally connected to the vertical channel members 58 and 60 are bracemembers in the form 'of channel sections 78 and 80 (FIG. 1). Eachchannel section 78 and 80 is pivotally connected to the vertical channelmember 58 at 82 and is provided with a lower end connected to theupstanding leg portion 16 of an associated one of the U-shaped assembly12 or 14. The manner in which the channel sections 78 and 80 areconnected-to the upstanding leg portions is shown in FIG. 5. The lowerend of the channel portion 78, for example, is provided with a slot 84which can slide over a pin 86 projecting outwardly from the upstandingleg portion 16. This pin may be the shank portion of a rivet or bolt.Once the slot 84 is fitted over the pin 86, a keeper member 88,slideable within the channel section 78, is moved downwardly from-theposition shown in FIG. until a' slot 90 in its lower edge passes overthe pin 86, thereby preventing channel portion '78 from slipping free ofpin 86. Bolts 92 in the channel section 78 and keeper 88, respectively,engage each other at the lower end of travel of keeper 88 and prevent itfrom sliding out of the channel member when channel portion 78 isdisconnected from the upstanding leg portion 16.

With the arrangement shown, and as best illustrated in FIG. I, thechannel sections 78 and 80 provide lateral strength for the verticalchannel supports 58and 60 and the handle 66. In this respect, lateralforces imparted to the handle 66 at right angles to the plane of thedrawing of FIG. I, for example, will be transmitted through channelsections 78 and 80 to the lower truck I0, whereby the handle 66 will notbow under the influence of such lateral forces, even though the weightof the piece of luggage 34 might be relatively large. At the same time,by disengaging the lower end of the channel sections 78 and 80 from theupstanding leg portions of the U-shaped assemblies I2 and I4 on eitherside thereof, and by removing the belt keeper 56 from between'theflanges 54, the entire assembly can be folded into a compact package forstorage.

As will be understood, when the parts 20A and 20B of the U-shapedassemblies 12 and 14 move together or apart, it is also necessary tovary the lateral spacing between the telescoping legs 62 and 64 of thehandle 66. For this purpose, the upper partof the handle is providedwith the assembly shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. It will be noted that theupper transverse section 94 of the handle 66 is formed in two parts 94Aand 943. Part 94A is provided with a plurality of spaced openings 96;while part 948 is provided'with a sleeve 98 which slides over part 94A.Hingedly carried on the forward end of the sleeve 98 is a latch 100having a ball or detent 102 adapted to be inserted into any one of theopenings 96. In this manner, the spacing between the downwardlydepending legs 62 and 64 can be adjusted by simply rotating the latchI00 upwardly to remove the ball 102 from an opening 96, followed bysliding movement of the sleeve 98 over'portion 94A until the correctspacing is achieved, whereupon the latch I00 may be rotated downwardlyuntil the ball 102 engages or fits into another one ofthe openings 96.

The belt 46, as best shown in FIG. 3, is provided with a buckle 104. Thebelt 46 can slide within all of the belt keepers 68, 56, and the opening44. In order to load a piece of luggage onto the carrier, the buckle 104is loosened; the piece of luggage is inserted within the belt; and thebelt then drawn tightly around the piece of luggage. At this point, thehandle 66 can be either moved upwardly or downwardly to accommodate theheight of the hand of the user. However, when it is desired to check theluggage at an airline ticket counter, for example, it is only necessaryto slide the handle 66 downwardly within the vertical channel members 58and 60 until the upper transverse portion 94 of the handle abuts the endofthe luggage. At this point, the luggage can be picked up by its handle106, for example, just as if the carrier were not strapped around it andplaced on a conveyor for subsequent loading into the baggage storagecompartment of an aircraft. In this respect, it will be appreciated thatbecause of the compact and closely fitting nature of the carrier aroundthe piece of luggage, it can remain on the luggage while it is beingtransported by a public transportation facility, or inserted into thetrunk of an automobile without taking up an excessive amount of space.The

' only portion of the carrier which projects from what would otherwisebe the outside dimensions of the luggage are the castered wheels 30;however, these can be made relatively small and unobstrusive.

. rangement of parts may be made to suit requirements without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. In this respect, it will beappreciated that the carrier of the invention can be built into a pieceof luggage as an integral part thereof, in which case only the wheels 30will project from one side and the handle 66 from the other side. Allother parts will be concealed within the luggage itself; and the belt 46will be unnecessary.

We claim:

1. A luggage carrier including a truck comprising a pair of generallyU-shaped assemblies each having a pair of spaced upstanding leg portionsand a lower transverse portion interconnecting the leg portions, acrossbar interconnecting said lower transverse portions of therespective U-shaped assemblies, castered wheels secured to the bottomsof said lower transverse portions of the U-shaped assemblies formovement ofthe luggage carrier over ground surfaces with a piece ofluggage to be carried resting on said lower transverse portions betweenthe upstanding leg portions of the U-shaped assemblies, crossmembersextending parallel to said crossbar and interconnecting theupstanding-portions of the respective U- shaped assemblies on eitherside ofsaid truck, vertical support members extending upwardly from saidcrossmembers on either side of said truck, a generally U-shaped handlemember having an upper transverse portion and downwardly depending legportions slideably associated with said vertical support members wherebythe upper transverse portion may be moved upwardly or downwardly withrespect to a piece of luggage resting on said truck, and brace memberseach having one end connected to one of said vertical support membersand another end connected to an associated one of said upstanding legportions of the Uvshaped assemblies to give lateral support to saidvertical support members and the handle member slideably associatedtherewith.

2. The luggage carrier of claim 1 wherein said vertical support membersextending upwardly on either side of said truck comprise channel membersadapted to receive the downwardly depending leg portions of saidU-shaped handle member.

3. The luggage carrier of claim 1 including belt keepers secured to saidvertical support members. and a belt passing through said belt keepersand adapted to encircle and secure a piece of luggage carrier on saidtruck.

4. The luggage carrier of claim 3 wherein said belt member is providedwith a buckle at the bottom of said truck.

5. The luggage carrier of claim 1 wherein the lower transverse portionsof said generally U-shaped assemblies are formed in two parts and areslideable with respect to each other whereby the spacing between saidupstanding leg portions can be varied.

6. The luggage carrier of claim 5 wherein the upper transverse portionof said handle member is formed in two parts. one of which is slideablyreceived within the other whereby the spacing between said downwardlydepending leg portions can be varied.

7. The luggage carrier of claim 1 wherein said brace members are eachplvotally connected to an associated one of said vertical supportmembers and are detachably connected to an associated one of saidupstanding leg portions of the U-shaped assemblies.

8. The luggage carrier of claim 7 wherein said brace members are in theform of channels having slots in their lower ends which receive pinsprojecting outwardly from said upstanding leg portions of the U-shapedassemblies, and including keeper members slideable within said channelsfor maintaining said pin within said slot.

